How Is Macbeth A Tragic Hero Essay

The term “tragic hero” was first introduced by Aristotle, Greek philosopher and playwright, around 2,400 years ago. A tragic hero is defined as, “a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat(dictionary.com).” To first be identified as a tragic hero one must be virtuous or noble but have a character flaw and/or make a bad decision. This decision or trait will lead to a run of misfortune which the hero knows that he is to blame. Despite this the hero will remain to have a high opinion of himself. This will eventually lead to a downfall that is considered greatly deserved. Throughout all this, the hero must remain to have morals no better or worse than any average person. This allows the
After Macbeth meets the three witches that tell him of his fate he instantly begins planning how he will make these things happen rather than wait for fate to take care of it. This proves to be a poor thought process when he thinks that murdering both the thane and King is the best way to ensure these events happening. Macbeth not wanting to wait for fate to play out is an example of his overactive ambition. Macbeth’s drive is clearly identified when he states, “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, Without my stir.. Come what come may, Time and the hour runs through the roughest day(1.3.147-53).” Here Macbeth goes from waiting for fate to decide to resolving that it would happen one way or another in a matter of seconds. Instead of waiting for “chance to crown” him he decides that there will be no way of this not happening if he makes it happen himself. If macbeth hadn’t had such a drive of self ambition he would have waited for fate to take care of everything instead of making it happen himself. This poor ambition leads to Macbeth killing a total of 7 people. These murders cannot be considered an accidental bad decision but rather a fatal flaw in